Letter to the Editor
Copyright ©The Author(s) 2024. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc. All rights reserved.
World J Gastroenterol. May 21, 2024; 30(19): 2612-2614
Published online May 21, 2024. doi: 10.3748/wjg.v30.i19.2612
Diagnostic value associated with the combination of saliva pepsin and microorganisms in functional heartburn and gastroesophageal reflux disease
Yu-Qi Huang, Chao Yang, Wen Luo
Yu-Qi Huang, Wen Luo, Department of Stomatology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Hainan Medical University, Haikou 570102, Hainan Province, China
Yu-Qi Huang, Wen Luo, School of Stomatology, Hainan Medical University, Haikou 571199, Hainan Province, China
Chao Yang, Research and Development Department, Shenzhen Uni-medica Technology Co., Ltd, Shenzhen 518051, Guangdong Province, China
Chao Yang, Department of Stomatology, The People’s Hospital of Longhua, Shenzhen 518109, Guangdong Province, China
Co-first authors: Yu-Qi Huang and Chao Yang.
Author contributions: Huang YQ and Yang C contributed equally to this work; Huang YQ wrote the manuscript; Luo W revised the original manuscript; Yang C reviewed the manuscript; and all authors proposed the ideas and approved the manuscript to be published.
Conflict-of-interest statement: The authors report no relevant conflicts of interest for this article.
Open-Access: This article is an open-access article that was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: https://creativecommons.org/Licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Corresponding author: Wen Luo, MD, PhD, Doctor, Professor, Department of Stomatology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Hainan Medical University, No. 31 Longhua Road, Longhua District, Haikou 570102, Hainan Province, China. luowen228@163.com
Received: January 12, 2024
Revised: April 9, 2024
Accepted: April 22, 2024
Published online: May 21, 2024
Processing time: 129 Days and 1.3 Hours
Core Tip

Core Tip: Heartburn is a common symptom in both gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) and functional heartburn (FHB), which can make it challenging to differentiate between the two conditions. However, examining oral manifestations of GERD can be a valuable tool in distinguishing GERD from FHB. In a study involving 116 patients with heartburn, the prevalence of dental erosions (DE) and periodontal diseases (PD) was evaluated. The findings suggest that dental evaluation in patients with heartburn can aid in the differential diagnosis of GERD and FHB. The presence of both DE and PD appears to be the most reliable predictor of GERD, while the absence of dental disorders is often observed in cases of FHB.